Kentucky Vs. Louisville Game Off Wednesday Due to COVID-19 Outbreak

The game has been pushed due to positive tests in the Cardinals program.

Kentucky vs. Louisville, one of college basketball's biggest rivalries, will not be played Wednesday as scheduled. Kentucky confirmed that the matchup has been pushed due to positive tests within the Louisville men's basketball program.

The two teams managed to play last year's game at the KFC Yum! Center, a 62–59 win for the Cardinals. The game has been played every season since 1982–83. Per Kentucky's release, the two programs “will monitor opportunities in which the teams can reschedule the annual rivalry game.”

Kentucky says it is also working to schedule a replacement game this week. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reports that it could give the nod to a different program from the Derby City: Bellarmine.

Sources: Bellarmine and Kentucky are close to finalizing a deal to have the Knights step in for Louisville and play the Wildcats in Rupp Arena this week. Could be a two-year deal. Would be a big opportunity for Scotty Davenport's program.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 20, 2021

“Worth noting that there are a lot of moving parts that still need to be fit together to make this happen,” Forde added. “But people are working on it as we speak.”

The Knights program is currently transitioning to the Division I level, as members of the ASUN Conference. The team went 14–8 (10–3) in its first year as a D-I program in 2020–21, finishing as a semifinalist in the '21 CBI tournament.

Bellarmine is 6–7 on the season, with losses to some of college basketball's top programs, including Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA this year.